YA LEUM.53 — Buenos Aires, amigos!!
In the last post we spent 24 hours in a plane…to cross the world from Vietnam to Argentina…
Buenos Aires, my friends! Is there anyone who never heard about the city of tango? Yet, this city has much more to offer than just dance. Buenos Aires is an inspiring city: the center of the city trills with its colonial architecture, with its squares and avenues filled with movement, the majestic Casa Rosada, a pink mansion where the president of Argentina lives, the elegant and world-class Colón theater, and many other cathedrals and churches that you cannot be ignored at all.
Outside of this colonial center are 47 barrios, each one with a different style and color. Palermo, the biggest barrio of Buenos Aires is also the most well-known among expats and tourists because it has plenty of restaurants, stores, and places to visit, including the botanical garden. Then, there is barrio Recoleta, known as the Argentinian Paris, where French emigrants arrived in 1940. You can certainly imagine the elegance and all the belle époque energy that one feels there. From an incredibly drawn cemetery to a bookstore that was once a theater and is nowadays considered as one of the most beautiful in the world, barrio Recoleta is an inspiration. There are many others, which are just as charming: San Telmo, Puerto Madero, La boca, Cabellito…
It was Mathieu’s second time in Buenos Aires. In fact, it was the second time Mathieu was going on this trip. He had already traveled through South America in the previous year, but love made him return. Thus, he already knew his way around the place and scheduled a tango night in a typical city neighborhood! We had a class, and I was not bad at all…
Buenos Aires makes you think about European cities. Everything is quite familiar: the cafes, buildings, avenues, restaurants… Everything except for the Argentinians. In the Netherlands, I met many Argentinians. In fact, one of my best friends is Argentinian. Yet, watching Argentinians in Argentina is pure music, joy and life for the soul.
We stayed in the place of a Portuguese friend and her Argentinian boyfriend. A musician with a broad grin, and, above all, just like the majority of the Argentinians we met, an very easy-going and peacful man
The afternoons were spent drinking mate, eating vegetarian food, sitting in the garden, and sharing stories and memories. It was wonderful to see my friend and to having again that home feeling.
We spent a couple of days in that city, which sometimes reminds me of the streets from the village where I was born in Portugal. Yet, my dilemma was always the same: should I stay or should I go? However, we rested as much as we could and decided to continue with the travels…An adventure was waiting for us and we did not yet know.
We decided to drive to Patagonia, which is the southernmost Argentinian territory. It is a 2500 kilometers trip just to get there… We could not guess that we would have to do more than twice as many kilometers.
We rented a car in Buenos Aires and our friend told us about a site for paid shared rides — the drivers share the itinerary, and the cost of the trip and others can join until they arrive in their destiny, sharing the costs. We thought it was ideal to meet people and save some money.
We had a small white Volkswagen and before we actually got it from the stand, we already had arranged the trip with three other people. We told them in advance that the trip was not going to be much comfortable, but everyone answered: “we have mate and homemade cakes, everything is going to be alright”. So, we all met in the center of the city, fit the luggage in the trunk, stuff the tents, sleeping bags, and everything you can imagine, and we left towards the south of Argentina.
The three people we met, each one with a different travel experience and story, were either visiting a friend or just willing to explore the south of Argentina. The trip was not comfortable, but it was certainly cheerful! We talked, exchanged food, shared mate, listened to music, laughed, and we all got along. I was in the front, with many bags around me, nearly leaning against the glass, holding Mathieu’s hand, ready to start that crazy trip to Patagonia.
The way was slow, and the car was heavy, and we had to remind ourselves that we could not be in a hurry, considering the number of kilometers we had ahead of us. Normally, people fly from Buenos Aires to Patagonia but since we were blessed with time, we decided to go slowly and enjoy the path as much as the destination.
At dusk, we arrived at our first stop — Bahia Blanca. It is 640 kilometers away from Buenos Aires, the village with a familiar look was waiting for this very friendly couple. Their friends invited us to enter but it was getting late, and we still had to find out a place to sleep.
Although we really wanted to stay, we continued the trip with our other new friend. When we arrived at her destination, it was night and since we could not find a place to stay, we decided to sleep in the car.
That was our first night camping in the car but certainly not the last. Although we had a tent, from all our options, the car always looked like the best choice.
That is how we started a trip towards Patagonia that took us two weeks. We met so many people along the way, saw many lost villages in the middle of nowhere, and we slowly traveled towards the region where nature grows freely, the immensity of the emptiness takes our breath away and silence gets an entirely new shape.
Patricia Assis
January 2018
